Is it just me, or is making a pie sorta like going to jury duty?
Don’t get me wrong… I sometimes (no.. not always) like throwing together a pie. I also sometimes like trucking my rear downtown for jury duty…. that’s after kicking and screaming in the weeks prior to said dutying.
The process of going to jury makes me feel super adult. What? You want me to sit in this crowded room with a bunch of angry people missing work, and you want me to possibly make decisions Law and Order style? Ok. I’ll play your game justice system. I’m a tax paying adult… thanks for the recognition.
The process of making a pie also makes me feel all adult like. Something about tacking a many layered recipe and busting out my pie plate tells me that yes… you’ve got bills to pay, but why not take a minute… ok, an hour… and show to world who’s in charge by making a pie? Orange and Cream… done and done.
Because the temps are still absolutely blazing here in Southern California, I thought a no-bake pie was in order. One problem though… crust! This graham cracker crust is baked for a quick 10 minutes before the filling is poured into it, making this No-Bake Orange and Cream Pie a little bit of a lie.
The filling for this pie is easily thrown together on the stove top. Bonus! You can make this with either fresh orange juice and zest, or lemon juice and zest. Also, feel free to skip the whipped cream on top if you like. The pie will be just a lovely without it. My only problem was that the crust was a tad bit crumbly… but really, that’s wasn’t a huge problem for me. I could have easily eaten this pie directly out of the pie plate with a jumbo spoon.
No-Bake Orange and Cream Pie
For the crust:
1 2/3 cup crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
dash of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter until evenly moistened. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and bake at 350 degrees F for 10-13 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool before filling.
For the filling:
3 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream (for the whipped cream top)
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, zest yolks and milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until thick, stirring constantly.
Add butter and stir until melted. Cool the mixture for 15 minutes, then add the sour cream. Stir to incorporate. Pour into cool pie crust and chill for 3 hours. I left my pie unwrapped in the fridge because I love a skin to form on top of the pie. Cover your pie loosely if you’d like. Whip up the cream, adding a few tablespoons of powdered sugar if you’d like, then spoon on top of the orange filling.
Alyssa
Just made this pie for my husband’s birthday. Great combination of flavors! We don’t have an oven, so i just did crumbs and butter as is. It has a storebought/not so crunchy texture but totally still doable and tasty.
russell
I do this with a shortbread crust. Amazingly delicious
coffeeaddict
Another great option for this pie, though the name should then read: almost no bake pie is to use the egg whites and make meringue! It’s yummy and I always hate recipes that leave me wondering what the heck to do with all those egg whites.
Aurora
Joy, I’m pretty sure you know by know that I’m totes obsessed with you….er, your recipes. Of course.
So, I made this and it was amazing. Probably the best cream pie I have ever had. Ever. I thought they were so gross before. My goal is to try and always follow the recipe as close as I can, but I made really subtle changes to this to make it a little healthier. I used fat free sour cream, 1% milk, and only 4 TB of butter in the crust. Next time, I would use 2 TB of butter in the filling— tis so good, and fluffy and so possible to eat the only thing in about 24 hours- we totally did it.
Barbara
I made this pie for dessert and loved the flavor. The real whipping cream with a little powdered sugar added set off the citrus in the pie. The only problem was getting the pieces out of the pie pan. It did not come out in clean slices and had to be disguised with large dollops of whipping cream.
Nagore
hey!!
i love the recipe, but my problem is that i dont think its possible to get sour cream here!! i have never seen it in stores at least (im from the other side of the world). My question is, is it possible to cook it at home? what would you use instead?
thanks, i love your blog.
Jen R
Plain yogurt makes a pretty good substitute for sour cream. (Too bad you don’t have sour cream, it’s great!):)
Chaya
I just told my hubby, it was time for me to make a pie, something I rarely make. Where do I land, in my wanderings? Right here with a great pie recipe. Thanks for knowing what I needed/
Mallisa
Made this today and im going to test it out on all the Marines at the BBQ, heres to hoping they love your food as much as I do.
ColbyW
Thanks for such a great dish. I made it two nights ago, it took no time to put together, and impressed my pastry chef girl friend (normally when we cook I get stuck on the savory). In fact it worked so well that it survived my mistake of adding too much butter at the end. Almost double, and the pie still set.
Thanks
Deanna
Joy – is that a vintage juicer I see? This pie sounds so amazing. I think I will finish off these cupcakes before I make anymore desserts. Again thanks for the lovely chocolate buttercream frosting recipe…I cant stop eating the stinkin cupcakes!
Lauren
What a super looking pie, I’ll have to make one of these, the temps here in Austin certainly make no-bake (or somewhat no-bake) a major bonus!
GS
Joy, I made this pie last night and I’ll be making it again…over and over! I admit that I stopped at the store and picked up a pre-made graham crust but, in my defense, it was already late. You told the truth about it being quick to make. The longest part was zesting and juicing the orange! Next time I’m going to try lemon.
Leslie
Looks DIVINE! how do you stay so skinny????????
Lauren
Looks delicious! Yummy!
Kirstin
I haven’t yet experienced the joy of jury-duty, but I have a feeling that pie-making is a bit more rewarding and positive. Even if jury-duty isn’t as awful as most people make it seem, I’m guessing you don’t come out of it with pie!
and certainly nothing as delicious-looking as this one!
Baking and Mistaking
Mmmm I want pie now. Will you make me one please? That looks like it’ll ship well, right?
Holly
This looks heavenly! It may feel like winter down in Australia, but I could use something zesty to bring in spring. =D I’m having some friends over in a couple of days to play games and have tea, and this’ll be the perfect thing for it.
Yummy nummy thankyou. =D
Gala
Orange and cream….in a pie….sounds delicious!
Sarah
Quite possibly my favourite dessert of all time but…Graham Crackers? Any suggestions on a replacement (besides gingernuts) for us Australian folk?
TaraLee
Shortbread crust which is delicious, but my family just loved it when I made it with Oreo cookie crust. Just dump about twelve Oreos in your food processor And blend until fine. No more ingredients needed for this crust, just press into a pie pan and fill. I’ve also done this where I’ve used a bit of egg white brushed over the crust and baked at 375 for 5 to 6 minutes which keeps the crust very crispy, even days later (if your pie makes it to days later!
olgalopez
Yummy Yummy I love Pies.
Carly
Ugh. I have jury duty on Wednesday, so I feel your pain. Creamsicle Pie looks awesome. Very clever, never would have though to use oranges in a pie! But it makes sense, I love anything citrus. Thanks for the constant inspiration.
Beekeeper
Oooo, I’m diggin’ the gingernut (also called ginger snaps in America :) crust idea… hmmmm… now, which one to do. I make a pie every first Sunday of the month and I’m always on the prowl for a new recipe. Here’s September’s! Thanks, Joy
Lowrie
You know what would be a super fly replacement for graham crackers? Gingernuts! Oh yesiree! I tell no lies. Orange and Gingernut up a tree…
P.S. Gingernuts are ginger buscuits (NZ pantry staple. They also have an ongoing love affair with steaming cups of tea).
EB
Ooh I love the 50/50 bar nostalgia of this one!
Hope
That is like a creamsicle pie! I am seriously in heaven!!
Shauna
Oh, lovely, totally underused orange. Why don’t more people make orange desserts, anyway? Lemons and limes always get all the love. Ridiculous!
And it’s only no-bake because you are so flippin’ awesome that you made a scratch graham crust. So, not a lie, but a triumph. Like my enabling skills?
megan
Does it taste like a creamsicle? my husband would love this if it did… :)
Jennifer
I completely agree with the pie making=adulthood. This looks like a quick one to try. I love a good graham cracker crust.
Anna
I love desserts with citrus, and the crust sounds very easy to make.
Amy
Pie beats out any other dessert at my house. Every single time. I cheat, though, and use the pre-made crust in the freezer section (sacrilege, I know.) I’m diggin’ this graham cracker crust option!
Cheri
I love anything creamy and orange. This looks delightful!
Amy
That looks…amazing. I’m not even an orange fan and I would totally eat that pie like it was nobody’s business.
sarah
just plain yum!